Petrol price hikes 'bad news' for consumers

The Government's scheme to increase petrol tax and road user
charges will hit consumers hard in these tough economic
times, the National Association of Retail Grocers says.

Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee today announced that petrol
tax would increase by three cents a litre each July 1 for the
next three years, and road user charges would go up by an
equivalent amount.

National Association of Retail Grocers of New Zealand
executive director Trina Snow said the increases would
inevitably result in higher food prices.

"I think every increased cost has got to be collected
somewhere. The transportation of goods is going to increase
and therefore the cost of the goods is going to increase and
the consumer will end up paying for it eventually," she said.

"I think this is bad news at this time."

Automobile Association spokesman Mark Stockdale said the
petrol tax increase would cost motorists on average about $30
extra a year.

He said it was standard for petrol tax and road user charges
to go up, but the latest increases were at the "upper limit"
of previous price hikes.

"The reality is that the money paid in tax is spent for the
benefit of road users; it's spent on maintaining and building
roads, it's spent on building newer, safer, more reliable
roads, and it's also spent on public transport.

"No-one likes a tax increase but, as the saying goes, two
things in life are certain: death and taxes."

"As cars have become more energy efficient the amount that
the government gets from fuel taxes has obviously dropped,
which has led to an increase in the amount of fuel tax to
make up for it.

"I just think that it's a pity that the Government continues
to live in a 1950s timewarp where they want everyone to drive
a car and to have cities like Auckland sprawling out to
infinity, when what most Aucklanders want now is some easier
alternative to a car."

Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said the
tax hikes were a waste of taxpayer money that would unfairly
make working families pay for motorways few will use.

Mr Brownlee said the increases were required to deliver the
Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme and other
roading projects to the timeline set out in the Government's
land transport funding policy.

The money would allow for continuing investment in the
Government's state highway building programme and other
transport projects.

In particular, it would allow work to begin on the Rangiriri
and Tamahere-Cambridge sections of the Waikato Expressway,
the Mackays to Peka Peka section of the Wellington Northern
Corridor, and the four-laning of the Groynes to Sawyers Arm
section of the Western Corridor in Christchurch.